Fury
by Hyperteenager24
Summary: A rogue Amazon, Aresia, recruits an Injustice Gang in a scheme to wipe out the world's entire male population. Part 8 of the Modern Wondertrev Series
1. Chapter 1

Outside the Gotham Biotech building, a lone soldier paces the doors outside, back straight and eyes alert as he kept a careful watch out for any intruders.

Hearing a movement to his right, he turned in that direction, only for long slender legs to wrap around his neck, cutting off his air briefly, before they jerked to the left, his neck snapping with an audible crack.

The assailant dropped down to the ground.

She had short, whitish-blonde hair, with yellowish reptilian eyes. Around these eyes, she wore black eyeliner, which slightly obscured her features and threw her unusual eyes into sharp contrast. Tattoos lined her upper body and arms, covered only by the close-fitting, snake-skin clothing.

Copperhead.

"He's down…" She hissed, as five more figures slowly made their way up to the doors.

Shade.

Solomon Grundy.

Star Sapphire.

Tsukuri.

And a mysterious Alpha woman, dressed in Amazon clothing with long blonde hair, who smiled at Copperhead. "Well done…" she then turned to Grundy, "… Solomon, be a dear and open the door."

Pushing Copperhead to one side, Solomon beamed at the gorgeous woman, "Okay."

At first, he tried the traditional palm-print lock, actually looking shocked when his print was rejected… the next step of course, was to smash through the lock, grab the wires and forcefully opened the door.

When they stepped inside, three soldiers were there to meet them.

"Stop right there!"

Turning to Tsukuri, the blonde woman gestured to the soldiers. "If you would do the honours my dear."

Tsukuri leapt up into the air, drawing her sword mid-air and using it to deflect the bullets that were heading straight for her, kicking two of the men and slicing the gun of the third man in half, before kicking him in the face.

With the three guards unconscious, she sheathed her sword.

"We're behind schedule…" reported the blonde woman, "… Shade. Cover us."

With a wave of his staff, the entire corridor went pitch black, leaving them in darkness under they got to a large steel vault.

"We've got three minutes before the police respond to the silent alarms."

"Plenty of time…" Star Sapphire reported, aiming her diamond that was on her forehead at the door as a purple laser shot at the door, slicing a perfect triangle in the door, which Grundy then punched in, allowing them access into the vault.

In the centre of the vault, was a flower in a glass jar.

"At last…" the blonde woman hissed, "… here it is."

Behind her, Grundy leaned over to Copperhead, "What are we stealing?"

"Who caressssss, sssso long assss we get paid." She hissed back at him, her forked tongue flickering out briefly, before she leaned away from the large man… zombie… thing.

"Let's go!"

They all followed the blonde lady out, missing the dark figure who was watching from up above.

A bola weapon took out Shade, sending him crashing to the ground.

Batman then flew through the air, kicking Copperhead in the chest, and sending her gasping to the ground beside her companion.

At the cries of pain and alarm, the blonde woman spun around and gasped at the sight of Batman stalking towards her. "What is- "

"- I'll take care of him!" Star Sapphire growled, taking aim and firing blast after blast at Batman, who dived for cover, before leaping on top of a security mirror that was high up on the wall. When Star Sapphire fired at him again, he used the mirror to deflect it back at her, knocking her out instantly.

An electric batarang took care of Grundy easily… he always tended to grab things out of mid-air.

Before he could fully react however, Tsukuri was suddenly there, kicking him across the face and sending him flying into the nearby wall. As she drew her katana, Batman was forced to dodge strike after strike (although his cape did suffer slightly from the assault). When she managed to knock him to the ground again, he used his legs to propel her into the wall, knocking the final one out.

Now, it was only the blonde woman left.

When she tried to make a run for it, he used a grappling batarang to tie her arms together, "Not so fast!" he growled, pulling her towards him, "Who are you?"

"I answer to no man…" she growled, snapping the cords with one flex of her muscles, "… not even you!"

Taking advantage of his surprise, she grabbed Batman by the collar and threw him against the wall. Stunned, Batman couldn't fight as he was thrown into another wall, this impact being the one that knocked him out.

He still managed to grab her necklace though.

…..

"Angel, really I don't need anything like this!"

The words may have been protesting, but the tone was anything but as Steve couldn't help but smile, allowing himself to be pulled around the jewellery store as his Alpha focused in on the bonding rings.

"You deserve everything like this…." Diana reassured him, her grip tight and loving, "… I have been nothing but cruel to you for several weeks now."

"And you made that up to me! Remember the dinner? And… afterwards?"

At his slight pause, Diana turned to him and smirked, remembering that night very well. "I remember… but I also remember the look on your face whenever Clark or Lex talk about their bonding ceremony. I think it's high-time we went through one of those of our own."

Steve couldn't help but flush at this, a small, pleased smile appearing on his face as Diana turned her attention back to the rings.

"I was thinking of something in sapphire…" Diana mused, "… I think it will match with your eyes perfectly."

Steve felt like his heart was going to burst free of his chest… no mater how non-stereotypical he acted, he'd always dreamed of having a moment like this, picking out the perfect ring for the perfect bonding ceremony, with the Alpha of his dreams.

As they continued to examine the rings, another Alpha/Omega couple were examining the head-tiaras, pieces of jewellery that were placed on the omegas head, with a jewel that hung down in between their eyes. With some added make-up, it made the omega look 'exotic' and 'mysterious'.

Diana couldn't understand the fascination.

"Why would anyone want to hide their natural beauty like that?" Diana wondered in curiosity… but a bit too loudly.

The pair turned away, with the female omega flushing slightly, clearly pleased at another Alpha noticing her natural beauty.

The other Alpha was less pleased, "Easy for you to say…" the man snarled, glancing over at Steve and scanning him from head to toe, "… if I were you, I wouldn't let that one out of my sight. He'd be chained to my bed and- "

Just before Diana could pull back her fist in order to hit the smug man in the face, Steve grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Please don't get arrested over me…." Steve whispered frantically, pulling her away as the other Alpha smirked and watched them go, "… It's not worth it."

"That's your opinion. Frankly, I can think of nothing better." But she did back down, allowing herself to be pulled over to another section of the store… the more expensive section.

"We can just wait here until- "Steve stopped as he watched Diana examining the bonding rings, "- Angel. These are a little expensive, I don't- "

"- I have the money to spoil you Apollo." Diana chuckled fondly, "But I think something a little- "

"- Oh, these are just perfect!"

The pair turned, watching as the Saleswoman made her way over, a clearly fake smile on her face.

"Our Intensity line will look simply fabulous against your Omega's skin! You'll have to beat the other Alpha's away from him with a stick."

Steve tried not to chuckle as Diana raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, scanning the other woman from head to toe, before smirking. "Trust me… I don't need a stick."

Without another word, she took Steve's hand and together, they headed towards the exit.

Diana only had so much patience for mankind.

As they headed out into the car-park, they could hear a car beeping it's horn frantically. When they got closer, they heard exactly what was going on.

"Come on!" the woman in the car begged desperately to the man blocking her exit with his truck, "I'm late for a Doctor's appointment!"

"Keep yer shirt on lady..." the man sneered from the driver's seat, "... I'm on a break." He then turned to his attention back to his paper.

"Oh god…" Steve muttered, taking a step to the side as Diana disappeared down an alleyway, spinning into her Wonder Woman persona, before she headed off towards the truck, lifting it into the air and giving the woman the chance to leave.

"Thank you!" the woman beamed, speeding away as Diana went to put the truck down, tapping on the man's window.

"Next time…" she growled, "… mind your manners."

Meanwhile, as she was dealing with the rude beta, Steve was heading into the alleyway, picking up her clothes and dusting them off, making them more presentable….and then someone grabbed him from behind.

"What the- " the yelp of surprise echoed throughout the alleyway, before it was cut off by a hand over the mouth.

But it was enough for Diana to hear.

She was there in seconds, rushing into the alleyway, sword nearly fully drawn… and then she stopped. "Batman..." she sighed in relief, "… what are you doing here?"

Batman?

Steve wriggled free, spinning around and glaring at the other Alpha, "Would you stop doing that?!" He hissed, "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days!"

But Diana had spotted the look on the man's face, and frowned in concern, "What's wrong?"

"… We need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

"An Amazon?" Diana frowned in confusion, as they both listened to Batman's story on a nearby rooftop, "That's ridiculous."

"I don't think so. I managed to grab this off of her." Batman pulled a beautiful golden necklace from his utility belt, throwing it over to Diana, "It's an Amazon design isn't it?"

Diana examined it for a time, before nodding slowly, "Yes… but it could be a forgery. Besides, Amazons don't steal, it's against our code."

"And most Amazons don't actually leave that island..." Steve piped up, "… well, except Diana of course."

Batman just hummed in disbelief, the evidence saying something entirely different to him.

…..

"I know it seems complex…" the blonde woman sighed, scribbling on a whiteboard, "… but if everyone does their job, we'll crack this place wide open."

"You still haven't said what we're stealing." Star Sapphire pointed out, "More chemicals?"

"No. Our target is the Gem Depositary. It holds almost twenty-five million dollars' worth of precious stones."

"Gems? Count me in."

Copperhead and Shade also nodded in agreement with the plan, already imagining what they would do with their share of the gems.

The blonde woman beamed and clapped her hands together, "So, we're all onboard?"

"Grundy don't know." Grundy grunted, rubbing the back of his head and frowning.

Slowly, the blonde woman made her way over and ruffled his hair, smiling gently at him. "We need everyone big guy… maybe a little something in advance will change your mind?" She walked over to a nearby chest, opening it up to reveal a chest full of golden coins and jewels.

However, even when she handed him a solid bar of gold, Grundy wasn't sure. "What about the Justice League? Me no want to fight them."

"Don't worry your pretty little head Solomon… I can take care of them."

…..

"I'm begging you to shoot me my love…" Mera sighed wearily as the Councilman at the other end of the table continued to drone on, "… Before I do something drastic."

"You were the one who insisted on being involved in these meetings." Arthur muttered back, an amused smile on his face, "A Queen's responsibility wasn't it?"

"I have a lot of regrets right now."

Before Arthur could reply, the communicator that was attached to his belt started to beep, causing everything to go silent (much to Mera's delight).

"Excuse me…" he picked up the communicator and answered it, turning his back to the councillors, "… Aquaman…. Which I still hate by the way."

"We know…." Bruce stated on the other end, "… Is Mera free for a mission?"

"… Don't you mean me?"

"No… we need her to visit an Island that only allows women. She's our best bet right about now."

"Themyscira? What about Diana?"

There was silence, before Bruce simple stated, "She's unavailable. Is Mera free?"

Mera, who was eagerly listening in on the conversation, nodded, causing Arthur to sigh wearily. "Send us the coordinates… I'll give her this communicator."

"That would probably be for the best."

Before Bruce could even hang up, Mera was already leaving the room. "Have fun!" she chuckled, not even giving Arthur a second glance.

"Right…" The King turned back to his advisors, "… remind me what we were talking about?"

….

Mera shot through the water, having memorised the coordinates on the communicator… and the extra information that Diana's omega had seen fit to send her.

Suspicious warrior women who hated men. Diana was the daughter of the Queen and was now banished for bringing men onto the island, despite the fact that the men saved the island from certain doom.

Bizarre.

Stopping for a moment, she peeked her head out of the water, gasping in amazement when she saw the island in the distance.

It was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

With her head still above the water, she glided closer and closer until she was walking on the beach of the island. "Batman…" she began, speaking into the communicator, "… I've reached Themyscira, what do you want me to do now?"

"See what you can dig up about any other Amazons that have been banished from the island…. And be careful"

"Understood. I'll contact you as soon as I know something."

As soon as he hung up, Mera tried to find some shelter, hoping to remain unseen for as long as possible… especially as she saw three Amazons heading along the beach.

"This is a waste of time!" she heard one of them complain, "Whoever did this wouldn't dare remain on the island!"

"You may be right, but we have our orders."

Three Amazons became five, and Mera found herself retreating further into her cover… until she stepped on a shell, the crack echoing in the relative silence.

Attention was immediately on her hiding place, and she was spotted.

"A stranger!"

"Get her!"

"Wait!" Mera called out desperately, not wanting to start a fight so early on in the visit, "I'm a friend of- WOAH!"

As the soldiers threw spears at her, she back-flipped to safety, cursing slightly in frustration, before diving back into the sea, narrowly dodging a large boulder that had been thrown at her.

"Alright…" she muttered angrily, "… if they won't listen to reason."

Shooting out of the water, she used a water whip to knock two of the Amazons over, the CRACK echoing along the beach. She then attempted to use the water to propel her further onto the island, away from these bullies…. And then a weighted net was thrown over her, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Now intruder…" the lead Amazon sneered at her, "… you will pay dearly for what you've done."

…..

At the Gem Depository, a guard was yanked into the shadows, followed by an audible CRACK.

Seconds later, the blonde woman emerged, stepping over the body casually as she gave it a quick sneer.

"Are you all into position?" she asked into the communicator.

Copperhead pulled at some wires, wrenching them away from the main controls. "I'm done. Copperhead is ready."

Star Sapphire was watching from the rooftops, "Star Sapphire ready."

Grundy and Shade were standing over the unconscious bodies of several guards. "Shade and Grundy are ready."

On the other side of the building, Tsukuri was standing over fallen guards of her own. "Tsukuri, ready."

"You all know your roles…" the blonde woman stated, "… I'll take out the security cameras, and then I'll meet you at the vault."

Casually, she then walked into the nearby building… after smashing through the glass doors of course. When she spotted the security camera, she stared at it directly and smirked.

"This is a message for the Justice League. As I speak, my friends are robbing the Gem Depository…. We dare you and the police to try and stop us!"

Then she headed down the corridor to the right.

"That should get their attention."

Not long after sending this message, she joined the others in the vault, watching as they poured gems and other precious objects into sacks.

"I do love sapphires…" Star Sapphire murmured, "… they're so radiant."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes, "Alright that's enough, gather up what you've already grabbed and get back to the hideout."

As the others made their way out of the vault, she went to grab a large ruby, prompting Shade to frown in confusion.

"What about you?"

She glared at him, "I still have something I need to do."

Tsukuri then spoke up. "I'll stay with you then."

"No! Go with the others!"

"But- "

"- Do as I say!"

Reluctantly, the Japanese woman obeyed, joining the others as Star Sapphire formed a purple sphere of energy around them.

….

Outside the Gem Depository, police sirens whirred, and the Police Captain snarled into his radio.

"Sergeant! Get your men into position! I want this whole block sealed off before they- "

He was cut off at a loud rumble, as a purple sphere broke through the wall and floated off into the distance, bullets having no effect on it as the villains inside got away.

…..

Back inside, the blonde woman smashed an eye-scanner device with her elbow, wrenching the steel door away from the rest of the safe, throwing it to one side as she reached in and pulled out a beautiful, sizable ruby.

It was just what she needed.

However, before she could leave the vault, a familiar voice spoke up behind her.

"You might want to put that back."

Superman flew in through the hole that the others had made, stopping in front of her as she smirked.

"You want this?" She pulled the ruby back out, "You'll have to take it."

"… Have it your way." As he reached out to take it, she suddenly grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back, wrapping her other arm around his neck.

"I intend to." She then kicked him in the back, sending him stumbling forwards. When he then turned to face her, she round-house kicked him in the face, sending him flying into a nearby wall, leaving behind a Superman shaped dent.

"Alright…" Superman chuckled as he pushed himself to his feet, "… you're stronger than you look, but you can't win."

"Oh, really?" She smirked and pulled out a small grey object, that look sort of like a grenade, before throwing it at him. Whilst he was able to dodge it easily, it struck the wall behind him and exploded in a cloud of rusty red smoke.

Almost instantly, Superman felt like he couldn't breathe, sweat pouring down his face as his knees grew weak.

"Still think you can beat me, big man?" the blonde woman sneered.

Before he could react, she was jumping out of the hole in the wall, leaping over officers towards the alleyway opposite.

"Stop…" he tried to call out, his voice weak and feeble as he stumbled forwards, "… stop!"

…

Diana watched as the woman ran her way.

Batman had informed her of the situation in Metropolis, advising her that Superman might need some assistance.

And she agreed with him.

It wasn't that Clark was a bad fighter, but he did hold back slightly with women, country manners having been drilled into him by his Ma…. But even when he didn't hold back, like when the pair fought each other in a drugged state back in the mall all those months ago, he still struggled.

Diana, however, had no such qualms.

Quickly, she jumped down from the rooftops, landing directly in front of the other Alpha. "That's far enough."

"Diana?!"

Like a bolt of lightning, Diana recognised the other woman instantly. "Aresia?!"

Before Diana could say anything else, Aresia grabbed her by the upper arms and threw her into a brick wall, causing it to dent under the force.

"I'd love to stay and chat Diana… but I think you might want to take care of your friend." Aresia gestured at the hole in the Depository…. Where Superman was falling straight to the ground, landing in a dead slump.

"Superman!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Superman!"

Diana rushed over as fast as she could, gently turning the other Alpha onto his back only to wince at what she saw. Clark's face was pale, and every vein could be seen, surprisingly dark against the pale skin.

"Superman?"

Silence.

Quickly, she sent out a distress signal to the other members of the league. Within a few minutes, Flash arrived at the scene, closely followed by Green Lantern.

"Woah!" Flash exclaimed at the sight of Superman lying on the ground, "What happened to the big guy?"

"I'm not sure… He was like this after I met Aresia."

Barry frowned, "Who?"

"One of my Amazon sisters."

Another frown, "I thought they weren't allowed off the island, I mean- "Barry winced, "- there was that whole issue with you."

Hal nodded in agreement, "Yeah… so where is this Aresia now?"

"She got away." Diana gently lifted Superman into her arms, "You two, try and track her down whilst I take Superman back to the Watchtower."

As she shot up into the sky, she failed to hear the rest of the conversation between Barry and Hal.

"So… bagsy not telling Luthor about this."

"Dammit." Hal bent down, scanning the area.

"Okay…" Barry started to pace, "… we need to look for clues first. Fingerprints, DNA, fibres, things like that. I can rush back to Central City and analyse them."

"You mean, something like this?"

In the green glow of the ring, Hal noticed a red substance on the ground. Slowly, he rubbed his fingers along it, bringing it close to his face to examine it a little further, just as Barry leaned in as well.

…..

"We've captured the thief my Queen."

Mera glared at the back of the Amazonians head, before turning her attention to the regal figure seated on the golden throne. "I am no thief!" she hissed, her temper getting the better of her, despite all that she'd learnt of decorum and dignity from her time as a royal guard.

"Then you deny that you took the gold?" Queen Hippolyta raised an eyebrow at her (which is probably who Diana got it from).

"I'm a friend of your daughter, Diana… and the Queen of Atlantis."

Queen Hippolyta straightened up at this (although it was probably due to her knowing Diana, rather than Mera's own crown). "What are you doing here?"

"I'm investigating a crime, and we suspect one of your Amazons may be involved."

There was a brief moment of silence, before the Queen nodded at the guards, prompting them to undo the rope that was around Mera's wrists. "That is a very serious accusation…" she sighed wearily, "… what proof have you?"

Pulling the golden necklace out of her belt pouch, Mera held it up. "Recognise this?"

All the Amazons in the room seemed to grow tense, as the Queen leapt from her throne and hurried forwards, practically snatching the necklace from Mera's hand. She examined it for a few moments, before turning to one of the guards.

"Have my horse made ready… quickly!"

As she ran out of the room, Mera wasn't far behind. Together, they travelled to the edge of the island, where a giant, stone tower stood.

"That necklace belongs to Aresia…" The Queen explained, "… She's supposed to be here! In solitary meditation!"

They entered the tower and headed up the stairs, climbing through a trapdoor and entering an ornate room.

"Looks like she got tired of sitting and contemplating her nails or whatever…" Mera noticed the dust around the place. Such a land-walker problem, "… She hasn't been here in weeks."

"I feared as much."

"So… why was she even in here? Did she do something wrong?" Mera couldn't help but think back to all the times Orm was locked in his room for 'un-princely' behaviour.

It didn't help.

"No…" The Queen eventually answered, "… this was the final step of her rebirth. You see, Aresia was not born an Amazon. She comes from Man's World. When she was but a child, her home town became the battlefield for a brutal and senseless war. The victors were cruel and denied their defeated foes basic human rights. Soon, her neighbours, friends and schoolmates were all gone. Her family had no choice but to flee, eventually finding their way to a refugee ship. But even there, fate was not kind."

The Queen took a deep breath, turning away from Mera as she continued the story, "Pirates raided the ship and stole their few meagre possessions, before sinking the ship. Aresia survived, clinging to a piece of floating wreckage. Miraculously, she washed up here, on Themyscira…. I found her and nursed her back to health."

A soft smile appeared on the Queen's face at the memory, "Then we Amazons adopted her… trained her, and magically endowed her with Amazon strength. I've often wondered if we did the right thing. Still… how could we refuse."

Mera felt a pang of sympathy for the Queen. She knew that if a child needed help back in Atlantis, she'd adopt them without a second thought. "You couldn't." she whispered.

"… And now she's deserted us."

Mera glanced around the room, frowning when she spotted a large desk, with a cloth covering it. Slowly, she walked over to it and removed the cloth. "Maybe we'll find some answers in here."

Struggling to lift up the lid, she frowned at what she found.

"What is it?" The Queen asked.

"Books…. Maps… city guides."

"Those things are forbidden."

"… Why?"

The Queen sighed, "We believe that contact with the outside world will corrupt us… just look at what happened to Diana."

Mera desperately wanted to argue with the other Alpha, until she glanced down and spotted the title of the book she had in her hands. "Yeah… it seems that way.

HISTORY OF GERM WARFARE.

….

"His condition continues to deteriorate…" J'onn muttered as Lex continued to pace the area.

"He's practically invulnerable!" The omega hissed, the stress getting to him, "What could have done this to him?"

"Unfortunately, there isn't much data on Kryptonian biology, but I will do my best for him."

Diana, who had been standing by, placing a gentle hand on the Martians' shoulder. "We know you will J'onn." As the entrance doors started to beep, Diana turned to the computers in order to see who it was, "It's Hal and Barry. Maybe they've found something?"

As they rushed to the entrance corridor, Diana was alarmed to see Hal carrying Barry in a fireman's carry.

"Diana!" Hal cried out, "I need your help!"

"What happened?!"

"I don't know, Barry collapsed so I brought him here to- " Suddenly, he paused, one hand moving up to his own face, the green disappearing from his pupils as he wiped sweat away from his forehead, "- Actually, I'm not feeling so good myself."

His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forwards straight into Diana's arms.

"Hal!"

…

"Very nice…" Copperhead hissed, a look of pleasure flashing across her face as Aresia stood over a vat of boiling liquid.

"Hmmm… be a dear and hand them to me, would you?"

Frowning at Aresia's words, Copperhead slowly inched over, the ruby in her hands. As she handed it over to the other woman, she yelped when Aresia crushed the ruby in between her hands, the red fragments crumbling into the boiling liquid.

"Hey!"

"Why did you do that?" Solomon grunted, an angry look on his face, "Grundy not understand."

"Solomon…" The Shade tapped the larger man on the shoulder with his cane, "… for once, you and I are in complete agreement. We want some answers."

"We all do." Star Sapphire nodded in agreement, "What is all this? I think we have a right to know!"

Aresia stared at them for a few moments, before smirking and nodding her head as if she was agreeing as well. "You're right… it's time I showed you all what my plan is."

Suddenly, something was thrown right into the middle of the group, grey gas erupting from it, causing them all to cough and choke, before one by one, they fell to the ground unconscious.

….

"So, this Aresia's not really an Amazon?" Batman asked, after picking Mera up from the middle of the ocean.

"She's an orphan… it's hard to imagine what sort of trauma that could do to a child."

Silence.

Before Batman could say anything else, a panicked voice came over the radio.

"Emergency situation! Repeat, this is Air Traffic Control! All runways are full, and we've got thirty planes stacked up in the air!

"What's the nearest secondary air-strip?" A female pilot asked, "I'm low on fuel!"

"I've got sick people on board!" Another female pilot piped up

"Please clear this channel unless absolutely necessary!"

With a sharp turn, Batman went to land on the roof of a building in the city. It was chaos…. Men all over the city seemed to be collapsing as the female members of the emergency services struggled to keep everything under control, from sick people to fires burning in cars and buildings.

"It's like some kind of plague!" Mera exclaimed in shock, "Half the city's got it!"

"Yes…. The male half."


	4. Chapter 4

Aresia and her three female companions watched the chaos from the rooftops.

"So… the virus only affects the men?" Tsukuri asked, frowning slightly at what she saw.

"Exactly. That's why it didn't hurt you three."

Star Sapphire also didn't seem impressed with the chaos, "Why though?" She turned to Aresia, "What do you have to gain from all this?"

"What do I have to gain?!" Aresia's face twisted in anger, "Look around you! Man's world is filled with deception, greed and cruelty! But I'm going to change all that… today, we women take control."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Copperhead pushed herself to her feet and shook her head, "You can't be ssssserious."

"… Can't I?"

Star Sapphire and Copperhead glanced at one another, before slowly backing away.

It wasn't worth it… not yet.

….

Bruce grunted as he crashed through a window, another victim in his arms.

He'd warned Alfred to stay in the house, or more specifically, in the cave in order to prevent his oldest friend from succumbing to the disease. There was a chance Alfred wouldn't make it and he didn't know how far this epidemic had spread.

"Lucky I found this one…" he reported to Mera as she raced over to him, "…. But he's not doing too well."

The boy couldn't have been older than twelve.

"I'll get him to a medic!"

As Mera raced away, Bruce quickly realised that his vision was starting to blur.

Great…. Just great.

"Batman!"

Hiding how he really felt, he turned to face Diana who was clearly starting to panic.

"You were right!" the Amazon Alpha sighed, "It's a renegade Amazon."

"I know."

"I can't believe that one my sisters would- " Hearing the squealing of brakes, she stopped, turning to the right just as a bus swerved violently towards them, prompting them to leap to the side. As the bus continued to skid along the pavement, the driver clearly having succumbed to the disease as well.

Batman raced after the vehicle, with Diana not far behind, the female Alpha diving to save downed civilians from being crushed by a telephone pole.

Using his batarang to smash the back window and fly in, Batman pushed the driver from his seat and took control of the wheel, only managed to flip the bus onto its side as it slowly skidded to a stop beside a fire engine.

He just about managed to get the driver out, before he collapsed, falling straight in Diana's arms.

…

"Batman!" Diana winced when she saw the prominent veins on the Alpha's face.

One by one, the men were dropping like flies.

The men.

Oh God, please no!

With Batman still in her arms, she shot away from the paramedics and headed towards Steve and hers' apartment building, rushing in through the roof entrance and bursting into her apartment.

"Steve?"

Carefully, she placed Batman on the sofa, and ran into the bedroom.

"Steve!"

Still partially dressed in his work uniform, Steve was lying on the bed, his face the same as the others, veins sticking out on his pale face.

"Steve! Oh Hera, Steve no!" She tried to stir her omega, slapping him lightly across the face, only to curse (using words that would have had her mother in tears). Lifting Steve with one arm and Bruce with the other, she then started to make the journey to the Watchtower.

…

"How are they?"

J'onn turned to her, his face betraying nothing at her upset tone. "They are the same as the others."

Much like the other three, Bruce and Steve were now shirtless in the Medi-Bay, breathing masks on and blue veins all over their body.

Lex had also been brought up by a frantic Mercy, who had travelled with her boss, only to watch him collapse in the streets.

"Whatever they have, it appears to be an allergen, not a virus, but I can't seem to isolate it…" J'onn strode over to a microscope, "Still, every puzzle must have a solution."

"So, where do we start?" Mera asked, turning to Diana, who was staring at Steve.

"That's easy..." the Amazon muttered, "… we need to find Aresia."

….

"Even when she was a child, I sensed a bitterness in her…" Diana sighed, as her and Mera made their way back down to Earth in her jet, "… she was never really one of us."

"From what I've seen and heard about Amazon's, she fits in pretty well."

"How can you- "

"- Aresia is just taking the Amazon code to the next logical step. Get rid of all men."

"The Amazons do not preach hatred."

"Except when it comes to men… everyone knows the story of when you and Steve first met and came to America. Didn't you punch him twice in the face?"

Diana was silent.

…..

Aresia raced towards the silo, tapping in a code.

"YOU THERE! HALT!"

Tsukuri dropped down out of nowhere, kicking the two female MP's and knocking them unconscious.

"Well done." Aresia praised her, before elbowing the electronic lock, smashing it into pieces, prising the door open to reveal a specialist fighter jet.

"It's perfect…" she hissed, "… absolutely perfect."

"For what?"

Aresia and Tsukuri spun around at the stern voice, watching as another Alpha strode into the bunker, still wearing traditional Greek clothing.

"For more betrayal. More destruction?!" Hippolyta asked, her voice rising in volume.

Aresia was unphased by the anger, bowing lowly, "Your Highness! You of all people must understand why I'm doing this!"

"No! You have violated sacred Amazonian law!"

"… I'm sorry you see it that way."

The smirk on Aresia's face caused Hippolyta to tense, but it was too late… Tsukuri had moved out of sight, only to reappear behind her, knocking her to the ground with a boy staff.

As Hippolyta lay stunned on the ground, Aresia moved to stand over her. "I've come too far to turn back now." She hissed at the Queen

…

"Do you need any help? Any more victims?"

The female emergency service workers all reported the fires had been taken care of and the last of the victims was being transported to Gotham General.

"They seem to be on top of things…" Mera glanced around, "… Impressive."

Diana nodded in agreement, "Yes. It almost reminds me of home." She then sighed, "I used to believe that men could not possibly be essential to life… and then I met Steve. Now, I can't imagine my life without him."

Wrapping one arm around the Amazon in a gentle hug, Mera briefly squeezed her, before pulling away. "Come on…" She whispered, "… let's try and find Aresia."

As they went to save a helicopter Ambulance that had got tangled in electrical wires due to the smoke, they managed to pull the pilots out before it exploded, only for the helicopter to fall down to the ground.

As Diana flew after it, trying to stop it from hitting anyone on the ground, she heard an unfamiliar voice by her ear.

"Need a hand?"

Star Sapphire shot past her, using her crystal to encase the burning helicopter in a purple bubble, preventing it from falling any further as she lifted it back up to the roof. Within seconds Diana and Mera were there and ready.

"Relax!" Star Sapphire held up her hands, "I'm not here to fight. In fact, we came to warn you."

"We?"

From out of the shadows, Copperhead slunk out, nervously glancing at the two heroes. "Aressssia'sss crazy…" the snake-like lady hissed, as Star Sapphire nodded in agreement.

"She is. She wants to wipe out all the men in the world."

"We noticed…" Mera muttered, suddenly thankful that she'd left Arthur in Atlantis, "… where is she?"

"She and Tsukuri are at the air base… but it may already be too late."

…..

"That's the last one…" Tsukuri reported as she strode down the plane ramp, "… all of the chemicals are on board."

Aresia nodded her thanks, "Good. Then there's just one last unfinished matter to attend to."

"And it will remain unfinished."

Both Tsukuri and Aresia turned to the bay doors in shock as Mera, Star Sapphie, Diana and Copperhead raced in. Almost immediately, Diana knocked Tsukuri out, and Mera sent a mini flood at Aresia, distracting the Amazon for a moment, and giving Mera the chance to knock her to the ground.

But Aresia just chuckled, "What took you so long?"

Just before Mera and Diana could launch another attack, a purple shield appeared in front of them, protecting Aresia from their attack.

"Sorry for our little deception." Star Sapphire smirked, moving to stand by Aresia.

"Diana, I had Star Sapphire bring you here to offer you one last chance to join our noble cause."

"Man's world may not be perfect…" Diana growled, "… but destroying it is not the answer." She then straightened up and glared at the woman, "And you've hurt my omega, I won't let this go unpunished!"

"You would stand against us?! Against your sisters?! And all for some omega… slut!"

"Every single time."

Aresia sneered at her. "A pity."

As Star Sapphire lunged at Diana, prompting the Amazon to block the blasts with her bracelets, as Mera had to deal with a revived Tsukuri, who was quickly taken care of with a water whip. However, she failed to block the punch thrown by Aresia, falling to the ground unconscious.

Knocking Star Sapphire out by tricking her into exploding a gas cannister right near her head, Diana also fell victim to the same ploy, the punch just stunning her, rather than knocking her out.

"A valiant effort Diana, but you won't stop us." Aresia smirked, moving to one side to reveal a captive Hippolyta, "I guarantee it."


	5. Chapter 5

"Let her go!" Diana snarled pushing herself to her feet as Aresia sneered at her.

"You're in no position to give orders here!"

Mera then moved to stand beside Diana, watching as Aresia tensed up.

"Don't move! I'm warning you! I don't want to hurt her, but I will!"

The dagger moved closer to Hippolyta's vulnerable neck as Diana and Mera charged, making a desperate attempt to save the Queen, only to cry out in pain and fall unconscious as Star Sapphire's bolts hit them in the back.

"Well done Sapphire. Tsukuri, get us out of here!"

With their hostage still in tow, the four made their way back into the plane, taking off and leaving Mera and Diana behind.

"MOTHER!" Diana called out, as she and Mera slowly stirred.

But they were too late.

As the pair pushed themselves to their feet, Mera slowly made her way over to Diana, "Here…" she whispered, pulling a vial out of her belt, "… I found this."

"… The allergen?"

"Has to be. It might be the key to an antidote!"

"Then you need to take it to J'onn…And I'll stop Aresia."

Mera glanced over in the direction that the plane flew off in, "You really think you can catch up with it?"

"It's fast…" Diana admitted, "… but then again, so am I."

And with that, she was gone.

…..

"Almost done."

Aresia glanced up from her controls and smirked. "Good. The launch pad is just under an hour away."

"… And then?"

"Then I shoot these cruise missiles into the upper atmosphere. After they explode, the winds will scatter my poison all over the world."

Star Sapphire smirked at the thought, "And then I can say goodbye to some very unpleasant men I've known over the years."

"You can say goodbye to all of them."

Down below, Queen Hippolyta struggled against her restraints.

…..

"J'onn…" Mera's face appeared on the screen, "… I've got a sample of- Oh no."

Veins were sticking out on J'onn's face as it glistened with the sweat.

"The allergen.." he groaned, "… it must have been on Superman's uniform. And when I touched it- "His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

"J'onn!"

…

Diana smirked as she managed to catch up to the plane, slamming into the back of it.

Inside, everyone yelped as the jet rocked violently, sending them flying to one side.

"What happened?!" Aresia yelled at Tsukuri, who was struggling to keep the jet on course as it plummeted towards the ground.

"I've lost the hydraulics!" Grunting with the effort, Tsukuri managed to level the jet off just before it hit the water.

Aresia frowned, "How long can you keep us in the air for?"

"I don't know! I'm still losing altitude!"

Aresia sighed, "Then we'll have to launch from here. I'll re-compute the coordinates!"

When it sounded like something was banging on the top of the jet, Aresia turned to Star Sapphire. "Go and see what that was!"

Star Sapphire nodded, rushing over to the back and peering through the window, frowning at the sight of Diana clinging to the back. "Uh-oh… you'd better hurry with those launch codes!"

….

Diana cursed once of her favourite Man swear words as the bottom of the jet opened up and Star Sapphire flew out, firing at her and forcing her to dive onto the main part of the jet, spinning around and using her bracelets to deflect them back at her.

As Star Sapphire prepared to fly closer, she was fired at herself.

"What?!"

From the right, Mera swooped in with another jet.

Back inside the jet, Tsukuri frowned, "We've got company!"

Aresia glanced at the screen and frowned, "You know what to do."

Tsukuri nodded and pressed a series of buttons, igniting the weapons systems, which open fired on the league's jet. With Star Sapphire distracted, also trying to take the other jet down, Diana ripped one of the guns from the jet and threw it at her, hitting her in the back and sending her flying into the sea down below.

With that threat down, Mera placed her jet in autopilot, and opened up the bottom of it, eyes glowing blue as the waves down below started to build up, getting higher and higher as the water blasted holes in the larger plane, taking out their weapons system.

She dived down to the other jet, and together, her and Diana entered the jet, with Mera taking care of Tsukuri very quickly.

"You fools!" Aresia jumped to her feet, "Don't you see! We're not the enemy, it's the men, they need to be destroyed!"

"No. They don't."

They all turned in shock, watching as Hippolyta slowly made her way over, wrists bruised slightly from her efforts to break free, throwing the chain back into her prison, "You're wrong Aresia. Without men, you wouldn't even still be here."

She took a deep breath, "After your ship sank, you must have lost consciousness as you drifted on your make-shift raft. You surely would have drowned if the ship's captain not found you and pulled you to safety. Valiantly, he struggled to keep you alive, until you both reached the shores of Themyscira… but the effort was too much for his heart. His final resting place is an unmarked grave. He is the only man to be buried on Themyscira…. So, you see, for all you hate mankind, you owe your life to one."

Aresia scowled in disbelief, "Why didn't you ever tell me?!"

"I didn't think it was important… I didn't think he was important."

Folding her arms, Mera glared at the Queen, shaking her head, "Maybe you should reconsider that."

"So, everything you ever preached… was a lie?"

"Not everything!"

There was a brief moment of silence, before Aresia shook her head, "Still, the act of one man is not enough to redeem the sins of his kind! They all must die!"

As she reached back to press the ignition button, Hippolyta grabbed her, only to be back-handed out of the open doors, just as the launch button was pressed.

Mera went to save the Amazon Queen, using the water to carry the older woman back up the Justice League Jet, before then using her powers to rust the bay doors shut, preventing the missiles from being launched.

"The doorssssss won't open!" Cobra yelled from the pilots' seat as Aresia and Diana battled it out.

"Shut the missile off!" Aresia

"It'ssssss too late!" Cobra grabbed a parachute from underneath the seat, Tsukuri before running over to the partially open doors.

Aresia shook her head in desperation, "No! You can't leave!"

"I like you! But not that much!" She leapt out, clinging onto Tsukuri as she jumped.

Taking advantage of Aresia's distraction, Diana managed to get the upper hand, running towards the pilot seat in a desperate attempt to steer the plane away from the main land, only to go crashing through the window as a piece of a console smashed into her.

Hovering above the water, she watched at the plane span out of control, before exploding with a loud BOOM, rubble flying everywhere as it crashed into the ocean in a burning ball of flames.

Making her way back to Mera and her Mother, Diana sighed sadly. Hippolyta seemed to agree with the silent sentiment.

"Poor Aresia… may the Gods grant her peace at last."

…..

With Clark curled up with Lex, Iris curled up next to Barry (although with one hand on Hal's arm), Bruce checking in with Alfred at home and J'onn making sure that all readings were clear across the board, Diana was lightly peppering Steve's face with kiss after kiss after kiss.

"Are you alright?" she asked desperately, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Diana!" Steve's protests were weak, as he shuffled a bit closer, "You got the notes for the antidote from Aresia's hideout just in time remember, I'm fin! We're all fine! It's been distributed out, and no-one died, thankfully."

As the others joined them, Diana nodded and sighed wearily, "If only Aresia could have learnt about the noble qualities in you men."

Before Steve could say anything, Barry eagerly piped up, shoving another burger in his mouth. "I definitely could have taught her a thing or two. Too bad we never met."

"… Maybe it's just as well."


End file.
